Indiana University Athletics
Wrestling Heads to F.I.T.E. Duals
12/14/2006 12:00:00 AM | Wrestling
Dec. 14, 2006
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SETTING THE SCENE
Indiana will travel to Park Forest, Ill., where it will take part in the F.I.T.E. Duals. The Hoosiers are scheduled to face Eastern Michigan and Southern Illinois-Edwardsville at the event, which will be held at Rich East High School. The Hoosiers are 5-0-0 in dual meets this season after sweeping the Hoosier Duals.
LAST TIME OUT
Led by junior Brandon Becker and redshirt freshman Angel Escobedo, the 17th-ranked Indiana wrestling team posted a sixth-place finish at the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational on Saturday, Dec. 2. IU finished with 89.5 points, as Escobedo finished second at 125 pounds and Becker finished as the runner-up at 157. Missouri, ranked second by the NWCA/Intermat, ran away with the team title, scoring 157 points and beating second-place Michigan by 48.
Becker and Escobedo each advanced to their respective championship matches by knocking off their first four opponents. Matt Coughlin (149), Max Dean (165) and Marc Bennett also placed at the tournament, with Coughlin taking third. Bennett finished fifth, while Dean finished sixth.
True freshman Nathan Everhart (197) had a solid debut for the Hoosiers, going 4-2 on the weekend. Maurice Gunn (HWT) opened his weekend with a 5-3 decision over Wisconsin's Jordan Hein in the opening round, and finished the Invite with a 2-2 record.
At 133 pounds, Andrae Hernandez received a first-round bye and followed that up by pinning Eli Huizar of Dickinson State, but lost his next two matches to end the tourney. Trevor Perry (174) opened his tournament with a 5-4, opening-round win over Buffalo's Nate Rock. However, Perry was defeated in his next two matches. After a first round bye, Nick Walpole (141) went 0-2 to end his time at the Cliff Keen Invite.
MEDIA INFORMATION
Indiana Athletic Media Relations Staff Assistant Matt Brady is the primary media relations contact for the wrestling team. He can be reached at his office (812-856-0215), via cell phone (413-222-2788) or e-mail (mlbrady@indiana.edu).
HISTORY BECKONS
Two-time All-American Brandon Becker showed his mettle at the Cliff Keen las Vegas Invitational, taking home a second-place finish. Becker's lone loss came in heartbreaking fashion, as he was bested 2-1 by the No. 2 wrestler in the country, Arizona State's Bryan Stith. Becker topped No. 3 Craig Henning of Wisconsin in the semifinals
After the strong showing in Las Vegas, Becker moved back into the third spot in all of the major polls, trailing only Stith and Iowa State's Trent Paulson. Becker is now 14-2 on the season, and reached the 75-win plateau for his career at the Invite.
MEETING EXPECTATIONS
Redshirt freshman Angel Escobedo was equally impressive in Las Vegas, taking seccond in the 125-pound class. Escobedo won his first four bouts, including victories over No. 19 Pat Castillo of Northern Illinois and No. 4 Tanner Gardner of Stanford. Those wins set up a finals matchup against No. 11 Paul Donahoe of Nebraska, but Donahoe took the match by a 2-0 score.
Nonetheless, Escobedo gained the national recognition he deserved, and is now ranked in the top 10 in four of the five polls, with his highest rating of seventh coming from RevWrestling.com. The NWCA/Intermat poll has Escobedo just outside the top 10 at No. 12. This season, Escobedo is 14-2 with five pins, and his only two losses have come to the wrestlers currently ranked sixth (Lock Haven's Obenson Blanc) and 11th (Donahoe) in the nation, by a combined 4-1 score.
ON THE MATT
Redshirt freshman Matt Coughlin has jumped the most in the national rankings with his early-season success, climbing into the top seven in every major poll, and jumping as high as fifth in two of the polls.
Coughlin finished third at the CKLV Invitational, with his only loss coming to upstart J.P. O'Conner in the semifinals. Coughlin topped three grapplers currently ranked in the Wrestling International Newsmagazine top 10. He posted a 2-1 decision over No. 7 Tyler Turner and a 4-2 decision over No. 10 Jermain Thompson. In the third-place bout, Coughlin went to overtime with No. 6 Jordan Leen of Cornell and pinned his adversary at the 7:49 mark.
Coughlin's two losses on the season have been a 4-0 decision at the hands of No. 3 Gregor Gillespie and a 2-1 decision to O'Conner, who is now ranked No. 8. Coughlin's 15 wins are the second-most on the Hoosiers, and the Evansville, Ind., native has four pins on the season.
MAKING HIS MARC
Junior Marc Bennett entered Las Vegas as the last remaining Hoosier wrestler to be undefeated this season, but his undefeated reign did not last past the first round, as he was topped by Cal Poly's Yuri Kalika, 5-4.
But Bennett refused to go quietly, and worked his way through the wrestleback to earn a fifth-place finish. After the loss, Bennett won six consecutive bouts, the last of which was a fall of No. 17 Rocco Caponi of Virginia in 5:05. Bennett was stripped of a chance to wrestle for third by No. 7 Joe Rovelli, but rebounded with a 4-3 decision over No. 4 Raymond Jordan of Missouri in the fifth-place bout.
Bennett leads the Hoosiers with 17 wins on the year, posting a 17-2 record with four pins. Entering this season, Bennett had a 19-20 mark in his career, but the move from 174 to 184 pounds has benefitted the Martinsville, Ind., native. Bennett has jumped all the way to seventh in the latest Amateur Wrestling News poll.
HAVE AN EVERHART
True freshman Nathan Everhart took part in his first varsity competition at the CKLV Invite, and made a strong impression. Everhart went just 2-2 on the day, but posted an opening-round major decision, and nearly took down No. 4 Max Askren in the second round. Everhart was topped 5-4 in a hard-fought match with the Missouri grappler, and moved on to the wrestleback. Everhart topped his first opponent, but was eliminated from the tournament by Buffalo's Ricky Scott. Everhart is now 10-5 on the year.
Adding to Everhart's award resume was his selection as IU Scholar-Athlete of the Week for the week ending Nov. 12. The award is selected on a weekly basis by IU Athletics' Academic Services. The Tinley Park, Ill., native is pursuing a degree in biology in order to attend dental school after graduation.
STRONG BEGINNINGS
True freshman and Bloomington South product Kurt Kinser has turned some heads in the young season. Kinser has competed unattached for the Hoosiers at 149 pounds this year, but has already knocked off three grapplers ranked in the top 20, including a 13-2 major decision over No. 7 John Cox at the Penn State Open last weekend. Kinser took third at the Open, falling in the semifinals in sudden victory to VMI's Sam Alvarenga.
Kinser (149) and Paul Young (157) competed unattached at Michigan State and Missouri, and both placed in each event. Both Bloomington South alums took part in the Open division in Missouri rather than wrestling in the Freshman/Sophomore division.
Kinser took first place at 149 pounds with a 2-1 decision over preseason No. 11 Aaron Martin. Young, on the other hand, finished fifth at 157 pounds. Kinser is now 15-4 while Young is 9-4 on the year. Both wrestlers are expected to redshirt this season.
EARNING WOWS
Redshirt freshman Angel Escobedo was named Big Ten Co-Wrestler of the Week on Wednesday, Nov. 29, after going 5-0 at the Hoosier Duals on Nov. 25. Escobedo became the first IU wrestler to garner WOW honors since his predecessor at 125 pounds, Joe Dubuque, won the award on Dec. 22, 2004.
PERRYING HIS OPPOSITION
Redshirt freshman Trevor Perry had a chance to become the fifth IU grappler to go 5-0 at the Hoosier Duals, but was stopped in his chance for perfection in the final meet of the day by Ohio's Antione Love, who pinned Perry in 3:19. Perry went 1-2 at the CKLV Invite after suffering an injury in his first match of the weekend.
Perry won his first four matches at the Michigan State Open on Nov. 12, including a fall and a major decision, to advance to a finals matchup with Penn's Matt Herrington. The second-ranked Herrington took a close 5-2 decision in the finals after recording two major decisions and two falls in his first four matches. Perry, who went 17-7 as a redshirt a year ago, defaulted Ohio State's Blake Maurer in the semifinals to face Herrington in the final match. The Davison, Mich., native now has two major decisions and three pins to his name on the season. He has a season mark of 9-4.
DEAN OF STUDENTS
Junior Max Dean earned a sixth-place finish in Las Vegas, winning his first three matches of the event by a combined 20-4 score, including a first-round, 12-2 major decision. But Dean faced off with a pair of ranked wrestlers over his next three matches to finish sixth at the event.
Dean, who went 5-1 to finish third at the Michigan State Open, has a 12-4 record on the year and a career mark of 63-35. He has twice qualified for the NCAA Championship, posting fifth-place finishes at the Big Ten Championship in each of his first two years for the Hoosiers. Dean is a two-time NWCA Scholar-Athlete and a two-time Academic All-Big Ten choice.
NICK OF TIME
True freshman Nick Walpole had a tough outing at the Cliff Keen Invitational. Walpole had a first-round bye before facing No. 7 Dominick Moyer of Nebraska, who topped the true freshman 8-0. Walpole went on to the wrestleback, but was bested 5-3 by Derek Francavilla of Columbia. For the season, Walpole has an 11-5 record, including a first-place finish at the Missouri Freshman/Sophomore tournament. Walpole also went 3-1 at the Hoosier Duals, including a pin 38 seconds into his first varsity match. The Indianapolis native is now 11-5 on the season, and is tied for second on the team with four falls on the year.
